Second book on Addison's history finished

Sunday

Dec 29, 2013 at 2:00 PM

By David FrownfelderDaily Telegram Staff Writer

Editor's note: The story has been updated to make the following corrections: Removed the years from the book's title, clarify that the book contains graduate listings for each graduating class but only class photos from certain years, the publication date of "Night of the Wind" and where the book can be bought.----

The book is coming out later than he anticipated, but local historian Dan Cherry's second book detailing the history of Addison is now available for purchase.

"Memories of Addison" is largely a pictorial look at the village. The first book came out in 1996.

"I knew when I wrote the first book, that I would have enough material for a second volume," Cherry said. "I originally wanted to put out the book in 1999; however, two things happened: the Hudson Museum purchased the printing rights for that book, '1834 to 1996,' and I began work on the Palm Sunday tornado book."

The self-published book was printed by McNaughton and Gunn of Saline. Cherry said 400 copies have been printed and will be sold for $40 each. Some copies are available at the Lenawee County Historical Museum, 110 E. Church St., Adrian, but Cherry said the book is primarily available directly from him.

Construction of the new Addison High School in 2011-12 and the demolition of the Wayne Gray Elementary School building are included in the new volume. These photos are among the 1,000 or so images contained in the book.

In addition, the book contains graduation lists of each class from Addison High School from 1887 to 2013 — a popular section of the first volume, Cherry said. Valedictorians and salutatorians for each class are also identified, when the information could be found. Class photos for 1913, 1915, 1926, 1928, 1933, 1940 and 1941 are included.

"Memories of Addison" is Cherry's fifth book. He is considering doing a second volume on the 1965 Palm Sunday tornado. The research style of book is of a particular interest to Cherry, who is a reporter with The Daily Telegram.

"This book has many more images than the first volume. Many have never before been published," he said. "It's got more research, more pictures, and different people from Addison are highlighted. People can identify with the pictures."

The photos are from private collections, and much of the information is from public records published in the Addison Courier newspaper and from interviews. Cherry said the access he received to the newspaper archives resulted in a great deal of information in a time-saving manner.

Book-signing appearances will be scheduled after the holidays, he said. Cherry is also planning his next book.

"I'm exploring the possibility of a 50th anniversary book on the Palm Sunday tornado," he said. "It might be a comparison of slide pictures taken that day and placed side-by-side with photos of the sites today."

The first volume, "Night of the Wind: The Palm Sunday Tornado of April 11, 1965," was released in 2004.